It is the mainspring of life, courage. And courage has many

The fearless journalist and writer Oriana Fallaci, who lived and wrote with the fire of truth in her pen, once declared: “It is the mainspring of life, courage. And courage has many faces.” In these few words, she gave voice to one of humanity’s oldest truths — that courage is not merely one virtue among many, but the source from which all others flow. It is the heartbeat that gives rhythm to purpose, the flame that kindles all acts of greatness. Without courage, no love endures, no truth is spoken, no dream is born. Courage, as Fallaci knew, is the mainspring of life — the secret force that drives the soul to rise, again and again, against fear, despair, and impossibility.

Born in Florence during the chaos of World War II, Fallaci learned early that courage is not an abstraction. As a teenager, she served in the Italian Resistance, carrying messages through occupied streets at risk of her own life. Later, as a journalist, she faced dictators, soldiers, and tyrants with the same unflinching gaze. She stood before death more than once — shot and left for dead during the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico, threatened by regimes she dared to expose — yet her words never trembled. And so when she spoke of courage having many faces, she spoke not from philosophy, but from battle — not of glory, but of survival, of endurance, of truth.

To say that courage is the mainspring of life is to say that it is what sets everything else in motion. As the spring drives the clock, so does courage drive the will of man. Without it, knowledge remains unused, compassion remains unspoken, and love remains hidden. Courage is the force that turns potential into action. It is what allows a person to say, “I will try,” when the world says, “You cannot.” It is what moves the artist to create despite rejection, the leader to speak despite danger, the parent to protect despite exhaustion. And though courage often reveals itself in moments of crisis, its truest form lives quietly in the daily choices that build a life of integrity and meaning.

But Fallaci, in her wisdom, reminds us that courage has many faces. It is not always the roar of defiance; sometimes it is the whisper of endurance. There is the courage of the soldier who runs into battle, yes — but also the courage of the mother who rises each morning to feed her children amidst poverty; the courage of the teacher who speaks truth in a world that punishes honesty; the courage of the patient who endures suffering with dignity. Courage may appear as fire, or as patience; as rebellion, or as compassion. It is a thousand faces wearing the same soul.

Consider the life of Nelson Mandela, who spent twenty-seven years behind bars yet emerged not with hatred, but with forgiveness. His courage was not the fury of a warrior, but the calm of a mountain — the quiet strength to wait, to hope, and to lead with mercy. Or think of Malala Yousafzai, who faced the gun of an assassin for daring to demand education for girls. Her courage wore the face of a child, but her spirit carried the weight of nations. These, too, are faces of courage — diverse in form, yet united in essence. For wherever fear is conquered by purpose, there courage stands.

Courage, then, is not the absence of fear — it is the decision to act despite it. Fear is the natural companion of life; it warns, but it also binds. Courage is the key that unlocks its hold, transforming fear into motion, doubt into faith. The ancient Stoics understood this well. They taught that the brave man is not one who feels no terror, but one who does not yield to it. To live fully, one must befriend fear and rise above it, again and again. It is in this rising — in the refusal to bow — that the soul discovers its true strength.

So, my child, when you walk the path of life, remember Fallaci’s teaching: seek the many faces of courage, and honor them all. Do not wait for grand battles to prove your valor — your daily life is the proving ground. When you tell the truth though it costs you comfort, you are brave. When you forgive though it wounds your pride, you are brave. When you rise after failure, when you keep loving in a world that has betrayed you, when you hope in the dark — then, too, you are brave. For courage is not given; it is chosen, each day, in countless small acts that build the spirit of greatness.

And thus, know this: courage is the mainspring of life because it keeps the soul in motion. Without it, we wither into caution and decay. But with it, even in defeat, we are victorious. For the one who has courage, in any of its many forms, has already won the deepest of all battles — the triumph over fear itself.